1. Field of Invention
The process and apparatus of the present invention are related to room air cooling and room air heating and based on absorption vapor pressure enhancement operations.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A large scale absorption air conditioning process comprises (a) a step of producing a stream of chilled liquid such as water or an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol at around 7.2.degree. C. (45.degree. F.), in an absorption liquid chiller and (b) a step of circulating a stream of the chilled liquid through air handlers to remove heat from indoor air and thereby return the liquid at around 15.5.degree. C. (60.degree. F.). Manufacturers of absorption chillers are Trane Corp. in Wisconsin and Carrier Corp. in New York State. There are several manufacturers in Japan including Sanyo , Ebara, Mitsubishi and Yasaki. A commercial absorption liquid chiller has a large vacuum enclosure enclosing (a) an evaporation zone, (b) an absorption zone, (c) a regeneration zone and (d) a condensation zone. The processing steps are as follows:
(a) As water enters the evaporation zone, flash vaporization causes formation of a first vapor and a mass of internal chilled water at around 4.4.degree. C. (40.degree. F.). An external chill water at a first temperature around 15.5.degree. C. (60.degree. F.) then exchanges heat with the internal chill water and is thereby cooled to a second temperature at around 7.2.degree. C. (45.degree. F.).The chilled external chill water is then circulated to air handlers and heated to the first temperature and returned to the liquid chiller;
(b) The water vapor is dram to the absorption zone and is absorbed in a strong absorbing solution such as 63% aqueous lithium bromide solution. The absorbing solution is thereby diluted and becomes a weak absorbing solution, say 58% lithium bromide. The heat of absorption is released to a cooling water stream;
(c) The weak absorbing solution then enters the regeneration zone, wherein it is heated and vaporized to generate a near ambient pressure water vapor and becomes a strong absorbing solution that is heat exchanged and returned to the absorbing zone;
(d) The near ambient pressure water vapor is condensed by rejecting heat to a cooling water stream and the condensate formed is heat exchanged and returned to the evaporation zone.
The operations in a small conventional absorption air conditioner are similar to those of a larger unit described, except that the internal chilled water produced in the evaporation zone is circulated directly to an air handler.
An Immediate Heat Upgrading Absorption Air Conditioning System. (IHUA System) has been introduced by Chen-Yen Cheng and has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,071 and corresponding international applications. The system uses Immediate Heat Upgrading Absorption Air Handlers (IHUA air handlers). In this system, an absorption solution consisting of a common salt and water is circulated through the IHUA air handlers to upgrade heat taken from a first air mass or water and release the upgraded heat to a second air mass immediately. Production of chilled water is avoided. An IHUA air handler has one or more Modular Evaporation-Absorption panels (E-A panels) with two sets of heat transfer fin assemblies. An E-A panel has two closely spaced heat conductive walls enclosing a film evaporative zone and a film absorption zone that respectively exchange heat with air to be cooled and air to be heated through the two sets of fin assemblies. A multiple pressure zone IHUA air handler and multiple pressure zone evaporation and absorption operations have been described. It is noted that the present application is a continuation in part application of a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/295,771, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 851,298 that has become the U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,071 described.
A Vapor Pressure Enhancement Direct Water Chiller, designated as a VPE chiller, a Vapor Pressure Enhancement Direct Water Heater, designated as a VPE heater, and a dual purpose integrated Vapor Pressure Enhancement Direct Water Chiller/Heater, designated as a VPE chiller/heater have been introduced by Chen-yen Cheng and U.S. patent application was mailed on Jul. 15, 1995. The present application is a continuation in part application of this application.
A VPE-chiller comprises multiple pressure processing zones and is based on absorption vapor pressure enhancement operation. It comprises multitude of processing zones, Z-1, Z-2, . . . , Z-N that are operated under pressure P.sub.1, P.sub.2, . . . , P.sub.N. Each pressure zone (Z-n) contains a water evaporation zone (Z-En), a vapor pressure enhancement zone (Z-VPEn) and a second vapor condensing zone (Z-Xn). There are a set of rotating discs; to provide water evaporation surfaces in the evaporation zone; there are flat heat conductive tubes for forming falling films of absorbing solution and falling films of water in the vapor pressure enhancement zone; there are condenser tubes in the condensation zone. A first vapor is absorbed and second vapor is generated in the enhancement zone; the second vapor is condensed in the condensing zone. Outdoor air, cooling water or air/water combination is used to remove the heat of condensation. The construction and operations of a VPE heater is similar to that of a VPE chiller.